Atlanta, GA(July 4, 2011) -- Winners in the 2011 United States Open Beer
Championships - the only brewery competition to include professional breweries
and award-winning home brewers - were announced this week. More than 1200 beers
in more than 50 different categories were submitted.

Deschutes Brewery of Bend, Oregon was named Grand National Champion by winning
three gold and five silver medals. This is the second time Deschutes has won the
U.S. Open title. Cigar City Brewing of Tampa, FL and Grand Teton Brewing of
Idaho tied for second by each winning four gold medals and 1 silver. In all,
over 70 individual breweries won at least one medal and 20 won two or more.

National Home Brew Winners, Matt Tucker and Jake Tucker from Oviedo, FL won a
silver medal for their English Pale. While, Stacy Myers took a bronze for her
ale, Horseman of the Hopocalypse Ale in the Rye/Roggen category, and Phil
Sullivan also took a bronze for his Sully's Belgian Blonde in the Belgian Ale
Category.

"This competition is significant because it accepts entries from breweries
around the world and allows national winning homebrews to compete," said Dow
Scoggins, director of the U.S. Open Beer Championships. "This year, we had over
20 international breweries entered the competition. Breweries from Canada,
Belgium, Germany, Mexico, and England medaled. And this year, the U.S. Open had
its first brewery outside the United States to be in the Top 10. Neustadt
Brewing from Ontario, Canada finished 8th by winning 2 golds and 2 silvers."

Competing beers were judged in more than 50 different beer style categories.
This year's judges were from Australia, England, Canada and the United States. Along with the medals awarded, a Grand National
Champion is awarded based on a point system for beers (five minimum) entered in
the competition.
The top 10 breweries based on the number of beers placing first (3 points),
second (2 points) or third (1 point) are:

(*) The
Carolina BrewMasters hold an annual homebrew competition called the
US Open. This homebrew competitionis is open to all North American
homebrewers and is a fully sanctioned BJCP event. This competition was started
in 1991.